Until 10 years ago, it was
believed that when a doe gave
birth to twin fawns they had
the same father. It wasn’t until
the advent of genetic testing
that science was able to reveal
this is not always the case.
with each buck waiting for someone to make the next move.
After two hours, the dominant buck bred the doe with the other bucks looking on. Within minutes of the breeding, the doe and buck bedded very close to each other. The woods was silent for the next hour. Then, at around midday, one of our other mature bucks gambled and moved in on the doe and dominant buck. The dominant buck jumped to his feet, aggressively snort-wheezed, and ran toward the intruding buck.
The chase was on!
I lost sight of the bucks when they entered a bush-honeysuckle thicket. Although I couldn’t see them, the sound of antlers clashing indicated that an intense fight was taking place. It was over in less than a minute. I fully expected to see the dominant buck emerge from the thick brush. To my surprise, the smaller mature buck came walking out.
The fight was a real game changer and set the stage for me to witness some very interesting rutting behavior. Now, the lesser buck was in charge and he wasted little time letting all the other bucks know it. After a couple minutes of threat walking and wheezing, he walked to within 10 yards of the bedded doe, stood staring at her for a few moments then bedded. During the following three hours, he bred the doe twice. The day was pretty amazing and over the winter I thought a lot about what the future might hold.
see what might unfold as the bucks matured.
Because I photograph and document the behavioral traits of our deer throughout their lives, I knew that if the twins were sired by different fathers I’d have a good chance to see the father’s physical and personality traits play out in the twins. What I’ve discovered over the past 2-plus years has proven to be an eye-opener.
During their first six months of life, I wasn’t able to detect any physical or personality differences in the twins. However, as they approached and passed their first birthday, noticeable physical characteristics began to emerge. Although their bodies were similar in size, their facial features were different. Buck No. 1 clearly looked like the dominant buck that had been the first to breed the doe in November 2005. Buck No. 2’s facial appearance started to show a resemblance to the mature buck that won the fight and was the second to breed the doe.
By the time the twins reached 2 years of age, their physical appearance left little doubt who their fathers were. In addition to the physical similari-ties, their personalities became very similar to their fathers’.
Buck 1A (father of Buck 1) was
aggressive throughout his life. Even at a young age, he tried to be involved in the breeding process. On more than one occasion, when Buck 1A was a yearling, he nearly got himself killed by the older bucks when he tried to be a part of the breeding process. Interestingly, 1A’s “throw all caution to the wind” attitude is very apparent in Buck 1. In many ways, Buck 1’s attitude and behavior mirror the way 1A acted at the same age; neither showed any fear of older bucks when the time came to chase does.
Buck 2’s personality is much different than Buck 1’s. Buck 2 is what I would classify as mild-mannered and cautious, much the same as Buck 2A was early in his life. Buck 2 is a very timid buck and shies away from any confrontation. Through the first two years of his life, he has yet to engage in any breeding party behavior during the rut.
The rubbing and scraping behavior of Buck 1 and Buck 2 is similar to that of their dads. Buck 1 rubs and scrapes more than Buck 2 and does a great deal of lip curling when he encounters a place a doe has urinated.
Buck 2 rubs and scrapes, but much less than Buck 1. By comparison, buck 2’s rubbing behavior is quite similar to behavior we’ve documented in Buck 2A during the first two years of its life. It will be interesting to see if Buck 2’s rubbing and scraping behavior increase as it gets older because Buck 2A’s did after he reached 3½ years of age.
The study of white-tailed deer behavior is fascinating. Had I not been able to witness this aspect of the whitetail’s breeding behavior I’d be left to speculate on whether multiple paternity is possible. Knowing it happens won’t make you a better hunter, but it will give you a greater understanding of this incredible animal.
Blum, D. 2008. “Twin Fates: Sharing the womb with a brother may influence a girl’s development.” Science News 173 ( 16):
25-28.
— Charles Alsheimer is Deer & Deer Hunting’s senior contributing editor of deer behavior.
The doe that was bred by the two mature bucks birthed twin buck fawns on June 6, 2006. Knowing of De Young’s research, I was curious to
Goss, R. J. 1983. “Deer Antlers: Regeneration, Function, and Evolution.” Academic Press, N. Y. 316 pages.
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